Today I have the pleasure of interviewing one of my very good friends who goes by the name of Miss Tjo. Motorbikes brought us together but Afrika keeps us together. Talk about a life without limits and using everything you got to live. Please enjoy my interview with Miss Tjo and be inspired by her love for life.
Me: Please
describe yourself in five words?
MissTjo: Strong,
Confident, Tolerant, Generous, Spontaneous,
Me: Where
were you born and what do you love about your country?
MissTjo: I
was born in Limpopo province, GaMphahlele. The thing I love about about our
country, and this makes me sad at the same time, it’s the fact that there is
enough for everyone to go round.
Me: What
are some of the activities you enjoy doing in your free time?
MissTjo: I
jump out of planes, I climb mountains, I ride motorbikes, I sing in the shower,
I read, I laugh, I love.
Me: Your
most fondest memory?
MissTjo: Sitting
under the shade of a mud hut in a village where I was born, mama braiding my
hair while singing along to Dolly Parton’s “Tomorrow is forever”
album on a radio cassette player. I’m six years old.
Antarctica. No people to meet there, just miles and miles of white dessert ice.
The one place where you can get snow blindness, sun burn, and frost
bite all at the same time. It was summer time then so the sun was up 24/7, no
concept of time difference between day and night. I remember temperatures
dropping as low as -35deg Celsius, and I still had to work the crane and
discharge the cargo onto the ice shelf. It was tough back then.
Me: Your
top five books?
MissTjo: Shantaram,
Male daughters-Female Husbands, Half of a Yellow sun, Kite runner,
Secrets of a woman’s soul
Me: What
are you passionate about?
MissTjo: Teaching.
That’s why I’m on this current team.
Me: What
does it mean to be a Woman in Africa?
MissTjo: Being
able to do what I do for a living and still inspire young boys and girls to
aspire towards their dreams, knowing that there’s so much ground work that has
been covered already to make this possible. The future of this continent is so
bright, I need my chanel sunglasses to block out the shine.
Me: Please
share your thoughts on the statement " A woman in a man's world"
MissTjo: For
a while this term meant that I had to be better than the boys, I had to outdo
them at every turn. I was hard, but I managed. No one ever sat me down and taught
how to navigate my way around, until a man showed me how. He said that I really
don’t have to compete. All I need to do is accept that I’m a woman in a man’s
world, I need to let the men to see me as a woman in their world and just like
them I’m working towards their common goal, I need to be firm but not imposing,
strong but not overbearing, among other things. And very soon, you’ll see them
bending over backwards, to assist you and allowing you to lead them. My job has
never been so much easier since.
Me: Tell
us more about the career you have chosen?
MissTjo: You
have to have your priorities sorted out right from the start. Be prepared to go
away and out of range for long periods at a time. Work insane hours. You’re
constantly aware of your surroundings, the ship at sea is very vulnerable and
any danger that arises, your survival depends entirely on your training and
initial response. On the up side, the job teaches you about responsibility,
humanity, character, tolerance, patience, it opens your mind to so much more,
you learn so much more about yourself that any other institution or industry can
ever teach you.
Me: What
are some of the stereotypes that come with your career?
MissTjo: Men
assuming that you being a girl, you’re only as good as your boobs look. So you
have to sway that image away from their minds quick, then you save yourself a
lot of frustrations in the future.
Me: What
are your best moments in your career?
MissTjo: When
I assigned to the 04-08 watch, I look forward to calculating the time of sunrise
and sunset, and if my heading is easterly or westerly, it literally looks like
I’m chasing the sun. The view is absolutely mystical. Did you know, that
when the sun
sets, in relatively cold sea, with no clouds, sea smoke or fog, you can see a
green flash? The most beautiful thing ever. And at night, I would watch the
stars, and make a wish on a shooting star, I actually believe in that, I've seen
a lot of my wishes come true to not believe otherwise.
Me: Is
it a black or a woman thing when it comes to ignorance about your type of
career?
MissTjo: I’d
say it’s a bit of both. Black people and water generally don’t mix, and
especially if you’re gonna tell them about the ship…I think it’s a historic
thing dating back to slavery. But things have evolved since and I think as far
as women are concerned, mothers and fathers alike need to teach their daughters
and sons that it’s ok to go play in other countries. The people don’t bite
there.
Me: How
do you deal with challenges that come with being at sea and away from family all
the time?
MissTjo: When
I’m away and I know I’ll be away for four months, I psych myself up for that,
and I don’t think about home much. I call when I call, they know it too so they
get prepared for it. My mother would keep tabs on piracy news and so to put her
mind at ease, I call her regularly when we’re transiting in those arrears until
we’re clear. But my mama and my sisters are very supportive and are very proud
of what I do.
Me: I
know you get to explore many countries while at sea, can you share your top 5
and why?
MissTjo: A
lot of the countries we dock are very maritime oriented and they receive a lot
of sailors in their towns, most of them can’t wait to receive us even in their
homes. They take us through the town, the villages, teach us about their
cultures, feed us their food…its amazing. I even got a few marriage proposals
around…lol. So here are some of my highlights.
Honiara
in Solomon Islands, Papua New Guniea, Conarkry in West Africa, Curacao in the
Caribbean, Mantazas in Venezuela, Baltimore in USA, Klaepida in Lithuania to
name just a few.
Me: What
does it take to get into your line of work?
MissTjo: Study
a diploma in Maritime studies, complete 12 months cadetship/work integrated
learning, pass an oral exam with the South African Maritime Safety Authority and
receive a certificate of competency and move up through the ranks. Sounds easy
enough don’t it? Well it’s not.
Me: Who
inspires you and why?
MissTjo: My
mama. She’s my rock. I’ll say no more. She’s been through a lot, but she’s still
got enough strength left in her for her baby girls.
Me: What
are some of the challenges in your opinion do you think that African people are
facing?
MissTjo: As
Afrikans I think due to our general attitude towards fellow humans, we tend to
approach a lot of the issues with an apologetic approach and that is quickly
taken for grated and interpreted as weakness and so we've basically turned
ourselves into door mats, and everyone one does as they please on our
playgrounds
Me: How
do we overcome those challenges?
MissTjo: We
need to go back to where it all started, and take over our heritage, change
history and write our own. Educate our children, the Afrikan way. It’s really
getting out of control. I’m about to bring a child into a world where they’re
about to make it illegal for me to discipline my own child. Where did it all go
wrong? We need to find that place and make it right.
Me: Best
advise you have ever received?
MissTjo: This
man quoted me this, from a movie “Do what you have to do, so you can do what you
want to do. When it seemed pointless and I was close to quitting, this kept me
going. I’m here now.
Me: What
are some of the virtues you live by that makes you who you are
MissTjo: Humility,
Joyfulness, Respect, Trustworthiness,
Me: Where
can people connect with you?
MissTjo: Facebook I guess
Me: Thank you so much for the inspiration, see you on the road you hear! @288km/h
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